{"id":13414,"date":"2025-06-29T16:17:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T20:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moonblossom.net\/blog\/?p=13414"},"modified":"2025-06-29T17:14:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T21:14:13","slug":"japanese-themed-game-reviews-just-in-time-for-steam-summer-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moonblossom.net\/blog\/2025\/06\/japanese-themed-game-reviews-just-in-time-for-steam-summer-sale\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese-themed game reviews, just in time for Steam summer sale!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I had initially planned to do separate entries about these games sometime in the near future, but since the Steam summer sale is live now I figured it would be best to share them with you all while you can snatch them up at big discounts! These games all feature Japanese (or Japanese-inspired) visuals and culture in one way or another so if you’re looking to inject a bit of wa<\/em> into your gaming, keep reading!<\/p>\n

(Fun note, these are also all on sale on the Nintendo Switch store so if that’s your platform you can totally snag these games on sale too.)<\/p>\n

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Mineko’s Night Market<\/h3>\n

\"Mineko's<\/a><\/p>\n

I started playing Mineko’s\u00a0 Night Market<\/em> the day it was released a few years back. I was so excited by the adorable, almost picture-book graphics and the heavy emphasis on traditional Japanese art and craft. You play as Mineko, a young girl who moves to a rural town with her father. The main focus is learning about Nikko, the mysterious giant maneki-neko who is the mythical protector of the area. You end up helping him escape a shady government agency while things like ikebana, origami, and cooking delicious ramen to help the villagers. Once a week there is a night market where you can purchase rare items and products and participate in challenges to earn trophies and prizes.<\/p>\n

At release, the game was very buggy and while it’s been vastly improved there are still issues so do keep that in mind. However, my main beef with this game is that parts of it are incredibly<\/em> grindy. I know in this sort of game that’s the main challenge, but for example if you don’t collect enough flowers in one specific part you end up having to go through all the seasons again before you can progress in the story. So my biggest piece of advice would be to collect everything you possibly can. Even if you think you don’t need a particular resource any more, hoard it anyway. Learn from my mistake.<\/p>\n

If you’re looking for a cozy, relaxing collection\/resource grind kind of game with a charming storyline that feels like a love letter to Japanese tradition, you should definitely check out Mineko’s Night Market<\/em>. If only one of her clothing choices was a proper kimono!<\/p>\n\n\t\t